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Flyers Gameday: 11/16/17 @ WPG |
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GAME 19 PREVIEW: FLYERS @ JETS
In dire need of some goals and a victory, Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (8-8-2) are in Manitoba on Thursday to take on Paul Maurice's Winnipeg Jets (10-4-3). Game time at Bell MTS Place is 8:00 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised on NBCSP.
This is the first of two meetings between the teams this season. The clubs will rematch at the Wells Fargo Center on the afternoon of March 18, 2018. Last season, the teams split their two games with the home side winning each time.
On Nov. 17, 2016, five different Flyers scored and then-Philadelphia goalie Steve Mason made 30 saves in a 5-2 win at the Wells Fargo Center. On March 21, 2017, the Jets snapped a six-game losing streak (0-5-1) against the Flyers with a 3-2 verdict in Winnipeg after the game went to the third period tied at 1-1.
FLYERS OUTLOOK
The Flyers bring a 4-5-0 road record in Thursday's tilt. Overall, the club is 2-3-1 thus far in November with a road loss in Chicago (3-0), road win in St. Louis (2-0), home shootout loss to Colorado (5-4), home win against Chicago (3-1) and back-to-back shutout losses in a home-and-home set (1-0 in Philadelphia and 3-0 in St. Paul) to the Minnesota Wild.
A week ago at this time, the Flyers biggest concern was getting production beyond the red-hot top line trio of Sean Couturier, team captain Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek and the prolific assist pace of defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. Now, after the team got blanked in two straight games and five times in just 18 games, the worry is to get scoring again from any source.
Heading into this game, the Flyers have not scored a goal in their last 156:09 minutes of hockey. The team will look to avoid setting an unwanted franchise record. The Flyers have never been shut out in three straight games in 50-plus seasons.
On the injury front, rookie center Nolan Patrick officially remains day-to-day with a concussion sustained on Oct. 24. He could return to the lineup on Thursday against the Jets.
Veteran defenseman Andrew MacDonald (lower-body injury) began skating this week while rehabbing a knee injury incurred while blocking a shot against the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 21.
Through 18 games, Voracek (four goals, 17 assists, 21 points) leads the team in scoring, followed by linemates Giroux (nine goals, 11 assists, 20 points) and Couturier (10 goals, nine assists, 19 points, +14). Shayne Gostisbehere leads the defense with 15 points (one goal, 14 assists).
Goalless with two assists over his last 10 games, Wayne Simmonds has scored six goals among his 11 points. Three of his goals came on opening night. The alternate captain shares the team power play goal lead with three along with Valtteri Filppula (six goals, three assists, nine points overall). Konecny, has had a slew of scoring chances in recent games but just one assist to show for it. Overall, Konecny is sitting on seven points (two goals, five assists) after 17 games.
In 12 games to date, Brian Elliott has posted a 6-5-1 record, 2.59 GAA and .910 save percentage. Michal Neuvirth has made six appearances to date, going 2-3-1 with a 2.17 GAA, .928 SV% and one shutout.
The Flyers enter Tuesday's game in 1-for-18 slump on the power play over the last six games. Overall, the team has gone 11-for-61 (18.0 percent, 18th overall) on the power play, while yielding three opposing shorthanded goals. The club is 48-for-60 (80.0 pct, tied for 17th overall) on the penalty kill with one shorthanded goal by Scott Laughton.
Overall, the Flyers have scored 50 goals and yielded 47. In five-on-five play, the team has scored 30 goals while yielding 25.
JETS OUTLOOK
Winnipeg has posted a 5-2-1 home record this season. Overall in November, the team is 4-1-1. The Jets swept home-and-road sets with Dallas (5-2 home and 4-1 road, both spurred by big first period leads and excellent offensive games by top line center Mark Scheifele) and, most recently against Arizona. Winnipeg sustained a 5-4 home OT loss to Montreal and a 5-2 road defeat in Vegas.
Last Saturday, the Jets captured a 4-1 road win in Glendale against the woeful Coyotes and then followed it up with a home victory on Tuesday by an identical score. In Tuesday's tilt, Connor Hellebuyck earned first-star honors by stopping 33 of 34 shots. On a night where most of the Jets' big guns were held off the scoresheet, the team got goals from Andrew Copp (3rd), Joel Armia (3rd), Bryan Little (2nd) and Adam Lowry (3rd) to build a 4-0 lead through two periods. Winnipeg also blocked 16 shots.
Very quietly, the 24-year-old Scheifele has emerged over the last season-plus as one of the NHL's most productive forwards. In 17 games to date, the center has posted 10 goals (four power play, one shorthanded), 11 assists, 21 points (nine power play points) and a plus-seven ranking. While his shooting percentage this season (28.6 pct of his shots on goal have gone in the net) is unsustainable, Scheifele is one of the NHL's most underrated marksmen.
Thirty-one year old veteran forward and team captain Blake Wheeler leads the Jets in scoring with 23 points (5 goals, 18 assists) to date. Ultra self-confident young sniper Patrik Laine has scored nine goals (five on the power play) among his 14 points. Nikolaj Ehlers has posted eight goals (two power play tallies) and 12 points to date. Rocket shooting veteran defenseman Dustin Byfuglien has been looking for his first goal of the season (34 shots on goal in 15 games played) but leads the blueline with 10 assists including six on the power play.
Between the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Wheeler, 6-foot-3, 207-pound Scheifele, 6-foot-5, 205-pound Laine, the 6-foot-5 and currently listed at 260-pound Byfuglien and 6-foot-8, 230-pound defenseman Tyler Myers, the Flyers will have to contend with a lot of beef on the other side. The Jets may opt to have Scheifele's dangerous line go head-to-head with the Flyers' top trio or else may try to get him out there against Filppula, the undersized Weal (if he stays at center) or the rookie Patrick if he plays.
Kyle Connor, drafted by the Jets in the first round (17th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft, has dressed in 12 games this season. After veteran forward Mathieu Perreault went down with a lower-body injury, was recalled from the AHL's Manitoba Moose on Oct. 16. To date, he's posted four goals and eight points, making the most of an opportunity to get top-six minutes.
Mason, a nearly habitual slow starter in October, struggled mightily in his first few starts as a Jet. It should be added that the team in front of him was porous defensively (much to Maurice's vocal displeasure). Nevertheless, he had major issues tracking the puck. When Hellebuyck got a few starts and played very well, along with the team defense also playing a bit better, Maurice stayed with Hellebuyck as the regular starter. He's continued to produce strong results. Mason's playing time over the last month has been sporadic but he's played well in his last three outings.
To date, Hellebuck is 9-1-2 with a 2.32 GAA and .930 save percentage. Mason is 1-3-1 with a still-bloated 3.76 GAA and .892 save percentage that reflects the ugliness of the team's first few games before righting the ship.
For the most part, Winnipeg has been a healthy team for the first month-and-a-half of the season to date. There are no reported injuries at present that would keep anyone out of the lineup. Other than the since-returned Perrault (five games played to date), none of the regulars have missed more than two games.
The Jets are 13-for-57 (22.8 percent, 8th overall) on the power play to date, with one opposing shorthanded goal allowed. On the penalty kill, Winnipeg is 51-for-64 (79.7 percent, 19th overall) but is tied for the NHL lead with four shorthanded tallies (Scheifele, Myers, Armia and Brandon Tanev).
Overall, the Jets have scored 56 goals and yielded 47. At five-on-five, the Jets have scored 35 times and yielded 30 to the opposition.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
Flyers
28 Claude Giroux - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek
22 Dale Weise - 19 Nolan Patrick - 17 Wayne Simmonds
40 Jordan Weal - 51 Valtteri Filppula - 11 Travis Konecny
20 Taylor Leier - 21 Scott Laughton - 12 Michael Raffl
9 Ivan Provorov - 8 Robert Hägg
23 Brandon Manning - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere
6 Travis Sanheim - 3 Radko Gudas
37 Brian Elliott
[30 Michal Neuvirth]
Scratches: Matt Read (healthy), Mark Alt (healthy), Jori Lehterä (healthy), Andrew MacDonald (IR, lower body).
JETS
81 Kyle Connor - 55 Mark Scheifele - 26 Blake Wheeler
27 Nikolaj Ehlers - 18 Bryan Little - 29 Patrik Laine
9 Andrew Copp - 17 Adam Lowry - 13 Brandon Tanev
16 Shawn Matthias - 15 Matt Hendricks - 40 Joel Armia
39 Tobias Enström - 33 Dustin Byfuglien
44 Josh Morrissey - 8 Jacob Trouba
5 Dmitry Kulikov - 57 Tyler Myers
37 Connor Hellebuyck
[35 Steve Mason]
Scratches: Marko Dano (healthy), Ben Chiarot (healthy).
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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